Depends on whether it's work for hire.....but if there's no contract and they're trying to claw back his paychecks then they're the ones trying to prove that it

Depends on whether it's work for hire.....but if there's no contract and they're trying to claw back his paychecks then they're the ones trying to prove that it's _not_ work for hire, which would also prove that he owns the code.